2 ex-DuPage forest employees charged in $150,000 theft schemes

Two former employees are accused of stealing about $150,000 from the DuPage County Forest Preserve District through two “elaborate schemes,” authorities say.

Also charged in one of the schemes is a former forest preserve contractor who prosecutors say stole more than $10,000 from the district.

Charges of official misconduct, theft, taking kickbacks and unlawful participation have been filed against Mark McDonald, 53, the former director of information technology at the district, and David Tepper, 49, the former information technology manager at the district.

The former contractor, Arif Mahmood, 37, has been charged with theft and accepting kickbacks.

In one scheme, McDonald, of Wheaton, and Tepper, of River Forest, used a company they owned, Integrated Design Solutions, to bill the district for more than $90,000 of work and equipment the district never received between 2005 and 2011, prosecutors said.

In the second scheme, Mahmood, of Glendale Heights, used a company he owned, Alamach Technology, to overbill the district for contract work and used Integrated Designs to overbill for other services, netting kickbacks of more than $64,000 for McDonald and Tepper in 2010 and 2011.

The DuPage County state’s attorney’s office worked with the FBI to investigate the schemes, prosecutors said.

Tepper is free on $30,000 bond, and Mahmood is free on $20,000 bond, prosecutors said. McDonald is being held in lieu of $300,000 bail following a hearing this morning, according to DuPage County Jail records. Tepper and Mahmood are scheduled to appear in court again Oct. 1.